Safety
by mumeishi
Summary: Bella has another nightmare, and Edward is there to comfort her this time.


**Safety**

… … … …

I woke up facing the wall, curled on my side with the blankets tightly wound in my hands. My breath came inshort gasps, and sweat beaded on my forehead. Shadows danced on the walls of my room, the moonlight twisted and dark from the rain cascading down my window. Panic welled in my stomach, making me feel almost nauseous at the intensity of it. It was all my fault. He got them, and there was nothing I could do now.

A cold hand settled on my arm. I jumped at the touch, curling into an even tighter ball.

"Bella, Bella. Shh….You were having a nightmare, shh. You're alright."

Edward was here. Instead of calming, my pulse quickened at the sound of his voice and another wave of fear washed over me. I tried not to think of the dream, to block it out, but it was so fresh in my mind. My mother, Charlie. Oh dear God, James got them, he got to them and he made me _watch_. And Edward…

I almost retched as the images resurfaced, and squeezed my eyes shut as tight as possible.

"Bella. You're going to hyperventilate if you don't calm down. Isabella,_ listen_ to me." He gripped my arm gently and I tried to shake his hand off. I couldn't listen to him after that, I couldn't look at him. 'There is only one way to kill a vampire,' he had said to me once, and James did just that. It was probably the most violent dream I ever had.

And, there had been nothing I could do to help any of them. I whimpered quietly to myself, shaking slightly.

"Bella!"

Suddenly I was on my back and he was on top of me, pinning me down. His hand covered my mouth, though I don't think I could have spoken, anyhow.

"Stop." His amber eyes were wide with concern, the moon shining off them brightly, just inches from mine. It hurt to see that, so I squeezed my eyes shut, a few tears escaping in the effort. Edwards's hands were on my face, stroking my cheeks with his thumbs and brushing the tears off. It was so distracting whenever he got near my face. I took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling horribly dizzy.

"Tell me about it; tell me about your dream. I'm trying to help."

I shook my head quickly. I couldn't tell him that, I didn't want to think about it. It was the worst of everything. Charlie had still thought I hated him. James got him and he'd never know how much it hurt to tell him all those lies. He still thought I hated Forks, that I wanted to leave. Leaving was the _last_ thing I wanted now – you would have to drag me away if you wanted me anywhere else. And mom…

I opened my eyes to see Edward still looking at me.

He was okay. Everything slowed down. I breathed deep, and he gave me one of his amazing half-smiles, still managing to look worried to the core.

"Will you tell me, please?" he whispered in my ear and lay next to me, draping his arm over my stomach. I leaned into him, the cool of his skin comforting – I had enough body heat for the both of us at the moment.

"I…" my voiced sounded hoarse. It hurt to talk, a little. "What time is it?" I found myself asking, instead.

"Almost three am."

I lay quietly for a moment, trying to work some moisture back into my dry mouth. I still felt a little ill, though the terrible fear was starting to subside. I always had really bad nightmares when I was sick, ever since I was little. My mom said it had to do with being too hot.

"Can you get me a glass of water? I don't feel good."

"I didn't think you would. Your scent is a little funny." His arm lingered around my waist, and then he was gone. In only a few seconds, he was back, the water barely disturbed, despite his speed. I didn't want to move, but my throat felt so dry that I finally sat up. Edward waited patiently for me to drink and then took the glass to set down on my computer table.

"So, you were about to tell me about this dream." he stated as he slunk under the covers with me. I took a moment to compose myself. It was just a dream, it was okay. Even though I knew that, I couldn't help but feel awful inside.

I started off in a whisper that I could barely hear myself, my sentences disjointed and fragmented from the lingering panic.

"I dreamed…I dreamed about last month. With James, when I went to the dance studio. Only, he really had my mom. And Charlie. And he made me watch, and I couldn't do anything, and then you came, but you were too late for them, and-" I took a breath and shut my eyes, reveling in the feel of Edward curled up behind me. I tried to not pay attention to what I was saying.

"And you came, but it was just you –no Alice or Jasper or Emmet. And James, he…" my voice rose hysterically and cracked a little, so I stopped. Edwards arm tightened around my waist protectively.

"Hush, it's alright. You're safe, James isn't around anymore. I wouldn't let him get you."

"No! That's not the point! The _point_ was that he got _you._ It wouldn't have been as bad if I didn't have to watch that happen to you, and he just killed me off, but no! It was the worst thing I've ever seen, and I didn't even really see it. I don't want to go to sleep ever again." I slowed down to a pathetic whimper.

"Be glad that you can. But how many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to worry about me! _Please_, Bella. Don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll keep you safe, I promise." He nuzzled into the back of my neck with his nose, inhaling the scent of my hair and neck.

"You still smell a little sick, love."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault."

I thought of the day before and how I had sat outside in the rain for over an hour, just thinking about life, and how ironic it was. But I wouldn't tell him that, he would go on one of his 'you should take better care of yourself' rants. Overprotective vampire. It hadn't stopped raining since five or six days ago, I couldn't remember, but it was still coming down in torrents. I listened to it hitting my window for a few minutes before speaking.

"I really, really don't want to go back to sleep," I said, my eyes drooping.

"Of course you don't." He kissed my throat gently, and I fell asleep next to him, comfortable and dreamless this time.

… … … …

_A/N- So, it was just a one shot, but I liked it. The idea popped into my head, and my friend Bria bugged me until I wrote it, even though it was one am. Thanks, Bria. _


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